Two men have been arrested in connection with a home invasion and attempted armed robbery in Norwich involving a gun and hammer.

Rajiharan Arulampalam, who was threatened with a gun during an attempted robbery at the Larkman Lane Kwiksave on Wednesday night. Picture: Dominic Gilbert

At around 7.30pm on Wednesday, January 9, three men pushed their way into a home on Theobald Road after the occupants answered the door.

They were armed with weapons, believed to include a gun and hammer, and demanded money.

A handbag and a wallet were stolen before the three men left the property on foot.

One of the occupants in the address suffered a minor head injury after being struck with a hammer.

The attempted robbery happened less than two hours later, on the other side of the city.

A man wearing a skull mask and fitting the description of one of the suspects in the earlier home invasion, entered the Kwik Save store on Larkman Lane at around 9.15pm and threatened a member of staff with what is believed to have been a gun and a hammer.

Manager of the store Rajiharan Arulampalam, known as Raj, was alone in the shop at the time and grabbed a broom handle to defend himself.

“When I saw the gun I just panicked,” he said. “He came in and started pointing the gun at me and asked me to open the till.

“I just said ‘ok, wait’, and tried to get my phone from where it was on charge to call the police.”

When the attempted robber clambered over the counter, Mr Arulampalam ran through the stock room and out into the street, in a bid to lock the man inside the store until police arrived.

“I didn’t realise if it was a real gun or a toy gun but I didn’t want to take the risk,” he said.

The would-be robber tried to open the till and failed, leaving empty handed.

The till had been empty at the time anyway, said Mr Arulampalam.

“I would have tried to lock him in the shop if there had been other people around,” he added.

Two men, aged in their 30s and from the Norwich area, have been arrested in connection with both incidents on Sunday morning. They both remain in police custody.